Preparing for the Cisco Certification Exam

                        

Preparing for the Cisco Certification Exam

Your hard work and dedication has finally paid off. You’ve been studying and preparing for your Cisco certification exam, and you’re ready to take it! Before you do, however, there are a few things you should know to make sure that your investment in time and money will result in the results you want.

Get Educated

Getting Cisco certified is a great way to develop new skills, earn certification credit from your employer and prove you know how to do your job well. In some cases, getting Cisco certified can lead to a promotion or better compensation package. But it’s not easy. Earning a Cisco certification requires time, effort and study. It will cost you in terms of both time and money. To get started, first figure out which category of certification is right for you: CCNA or CCNP? If it’s networking, you probably want CCNA (short for Cisco Certified Network Associate). If you're an IT professional with experience in deploying enterprise networks, then CCNP (or even CCDN) may be a better fit.

Understand the Cisco Certifications

Cisco certifications help you prove your ability to configure and manage Cisco networking equipment. Before you start preparing for a particular exam, it’s important to understand how Cisco certifications work. There are different levels of certification (Entry, Associate, Professional and Expert) that require progressively more experience. You must pass an entry-level exam before attempting a higher-level exam, which means working up through associate level before trying expert level. Networking professionals commonly stop at professional level: managing large networks requires extra training and specialized experience beyond what is required by most organizations. The ICND1, ICND2 and CCNA exams can be taken in any order; after completing one you should have enough knowledge to proceed with another.

Select a Path

There are two ways to get your CCNA. The first way is to go through a training program at a university or technical school. These programs tend to be in-depth, complete with labs and tests, but are also costly and time-consuming—sometimes taking years to complete. If you're looking for a faster route, you can choose what's called self-study. This is simply reading about IT and networking on your own, then taking an exam once you feel prepared. But doing it on your own without any kind of structure can be difficult if you don't know where to start or what skills specifically Cisco wants from its network engineers.

Select an Exam

First, you’ll need to figure out which certification you want to pursue. There are more than 50 different options available through Cisco. According to CareerBuilder, some of these include: Routing and Switching; Designing Network Architectures; Designing Voice and Unified Communications Solutions; CCIE Service Provider Operations; Data Center Virtualization & Automation; and IT Service Management.

Choose a Training Path

A huge aspect of succeeding in any field is having access to quality training. Whether you’re preparing to take your certification exam or are simply working towards advancing your skills, it’s important to know that you have a reliable way of gaining relevant knowledge. Fortunately, with today’s technology and online learning platforms, it’s easier than ever to find quality training at an affordable price. With that in mind, here are two training options every aspiring professional should explore

Build Your Test-Taking Skills

Test-taking is a skill in itself, and one that requires practice. If you’re new to taking exams, you should consider taking a prep course. These courses will teach you everything from best practices to how to navigate specific question types that are used in various testing environments (i.e., multiple choice or open-ended). The bottom line: If you want to pass your exam on your first try, it’s worth doing a bit of prep work beforehand.

Build Your Memory Skills

Whether you’re looking to ace your next certification or just need a boost in your day-to-day work, having an ironclad memory can make all of the difference. Practicing with flashcards can help you memorize terms and processes quickly and easily. There are tons of flashcard options available on mobile apps (like Quizlet) or online platforms like Evernote. You could even create your own by hand—just use colors, symbols, or typeface formatting to group related information together. Now that you’ve got a plan in place, it’s time to put in some work! Be sure to study at least five minutes every day until exam day arrives. Review old cards before adding new ones to help reinforce what you already know.

Make Time For Practice Exams

The best thing you can do is make time to study. For many students, however, it’s difficult to find hours during a busy schedule. One way around that is to schedule practice exams on weekends or after work—before going home. You don’t need days or weeks of preparation; 60 minutes of focused prep should be enough. Afterward, take some time off from studying before going at it again. Don’t cram! The more exposure you have to exam questions, and specifically those on which you tend to get tripped up, will improve your chances of succeeding when exam day arrives.